Envelope-window-cutting device



M rash 1 192?, v a 9 A. QLGAY ENVELOPE WINDOW CUTTING DEVICE Filed Sept. 28. 1925 2 shee'ls sheet 1 VZ/cfzeas; 555 7 opening cut in the Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT O LGAY, 0E GLEN ELLYN, ILLINOIS ASSIGNYORYTO GAW-OHARA ENVELOPE COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A COBPORATIO-N'OF ILLINOIS.

'nnvnnorn-winnow-cu'rrme DEVICE.

Application filed September 28, 1925. Serial No. 58,967.

This invention relates to; a device adapted to cut windows or other openings in envelopes and to an arrangement of such device with a printing press or the like whereby any matter may be printed upon the envelope at the same time and during the sameoperation of cutting the window or other" opening in the envelope. More particularly theinvention relates to a knife adapted to be mounted on the usual type plate cylinder of a high speed rotary printing press whereby windows-may be cut in envelope blanks during the printing operation.

Heretofore it has been usual to cut win- (lows and the like in envelope blanks by hand or by machine presses. carrying one or more knives arranged in the shape of' the opening or perforation to be cut in the envelope blank and to thereafter printwhatever matter be desired on the blank, or the opposite steps were carried out; i. e., the blanks were first printed and thereafter the manner above set forth.

With my invention, however, I have eliminated' the two stepsheretofore thought necessaryandcomplete both operations at one and the same time. 7

One of the primary objects of my invention therefore, is to provide a knife or die adapted to cut window openings or other perforations in envelope blanks during the printing operation or simultaneously therewith and to provide a. cooperative pad which 1 may be arrangedv on the platen for cooperation with the printing plate or cylinder.

, Many other advantages and novelties of construction and operation should be readily appreciated after reading the following description and claims and after viewing the drawings in which 1 is a side section of. a well known typeof printing press. adapted i tocontinuously feed. and con-' tinuouslyprint and continuously eject envelope blanks- Fig. '2 is an enlarged'detail' of the type:

plate cylinder and its operative platentaken on a pl'ane parallel with but to the rear of the gears shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side or front elevation ofthe type plate cylinder illustrated on the scale of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 4.4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the printing elevation view partly in.

press illustrated is mounted upon a base frame 2 carrying any suitable prime mover I7 and thus the type plate cylinder, the axis of whigh is indicated at 8 through the intermediary of cooperative gears 9. An envelope blank magazine '11 supplies envelopes indicated at 12 through a feed mechanism including a feed roll indicated at 13 to and between the type plate cylinder and its cooperative platen- After the bl'ankhas been printed'upon and the opening out therethrough, it passes into an appropriate mechanism indicated at 14 adapted to receive the blanks after' the printing and adapted to stack them in alignment or otherwise dispose of them.

The type plat-e cylinder 15 is of the usual type providing flanged or headed projections 16 with intermediate slots 17 in two direc tions within which blocks or bolt heads may be adjust-ably secured, for securing boththe type plates and the knife plate in'place upon the cylinder in any desired relation to one another and to the blanks to be printed. In the present instance, I have shown blocks 18 within the slots 17 for engagement ofscrews 19 passing through the hold-down blocks 21 for securing the hol'dedown blocks and thus the knife plate 22' firmly against the surface of the heads 16 of the cylinder face. Preferably the knife plate 22 is provided. with beveled edges indicated at 23 and the holddown blocks 21 are likewise correspondingly beveled to obtain a wedging action against the plate. With the knife plate thussecurable to the type plate. cylinder, the knife plate may be movedv to any positionv with respect to the, type on the plate cylinder in order that. the. window opening in the envelope may be cut at any desiredposition with respect to the type, i. e., the opening may be cut at a point centered or offset with. respect to the printed. mattercontained on the envelope, and one of the important objects of my invention is subserved'.

The knife plate 22 is formed in the shape of a segment of a cylinder with its back face, i. e., the first to be disposed against the curved contour of the cylinder, curved to correspond with the cylinder of the cylinder press. In other words, the rear face of the knife plate or body portion of the knife is of enerally rectangular shape and curved only in the directlon of its minor axls belng straight in the direction of its manor axis.

Likewise the knife blade, the edge of which is indicated at 24, has said edge lying in a surface in space concentric with the surface of the cylinder.

The platen cylinder 25, of any usual or preferred construction, is in the present instance, provided with one or more longitudinal bars 26 inset below the cylindrical sur face to provide anchors forone or more a yer blankets 27 coverin the surface of the platen cooperative with the type and the metal of the knife blade in order that it ma not dull the edge of the knife. The sleet of paper or the paper blanket 26 may be loosely secured over the face of the pad which is preferably glued or otherwise fixed to the inner sheet or it may be gliied or otherwise secured thereto in the samemanner as the plate is secured to the inner sheet.

For a purpose well known and well understood but to which general reference will be made, hearers 31 and 32 are cooperatively arranged at or adjacent the ends of the type late cylinder and the platen cylinder,

in orc er that they compensate for the depth of rise of the type and knife bodies above the surface of the type plate cylinder, and both cylinders are arranged in full floating bearings of any well known or preferred construction.

In operation the envelope blanks are fed between the type plate cylinder and the platen in predetermined timed relation and on their passage between these cylinders they are printed in the desired places and provided with an opening at one and the same operation. From this point the sheets may be stacked by any suitable mechanism or otherwise disposed of as desired. The knife edge may be maintained shar in any suitable manner, care being exercised to keep all oints of its edge in the same cylindrical sur ace in space concentric with the cylindrical surface of the cylinder and from time to time the pad 29 may be renewed as after several hundred thousand blanks have been cut, an objectionable groove will be formed therein.

Many changes may be made in the construction and operation involving wide departure from the form of the invention shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention as will be obvious. For this reason, I desire to be lim ited only by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a printing press adapted to print on envelope blanks, of means relatively adjustable with respect to the print type for cutting a window in each envelope.

2. The combination with a printing press havinga type plate and a cooperative platen constructed and arranged for printing-envelopes, of means adjust-ably associated with said plate and cooperative with said platen for cutting a window in each envelope.

3. The combination with a printing press having a type plate cylinder, a cooperative platen and means for successively feeding uidividual sheets of material between said cylinder and platen for printing thereon, of a knife on said cylinder constructed and arran ed for adjustment thereon with respect 0 the type, and a metal pad on said platen for cooperation with said knife for cutting a perforation in each sheet of material fed therebetween simultaneous y with printing upon the sheet.

4. The combination with a printing press having a plate cylinder and a cooperative platen, of means for cutting a perforation in material blanks fed between said cylinder and platen comprising, a knife adjustably secured to the face of said cylinder and a metal pad cooperative with said knife secured on said platen. I

5. The combination with a printing press having a type plate cylinder and a cooperative platen cylinder having cooperative bearers, of a knife of generally rectangular cutting edge secured on the plate cylinder and constructed and arranged for adjustment with respect to type on said plate cylinder and a pad for said knife secured on said platen cylinder.

In witness of the foregoing I afiix my signature.

ALBERT OLGAY. 

